MUMBAI: A court here acquitted a man in a rape case after the complainant revealed during cross-examination that she had lodged the complaint to pressure him to marry her.
The woman, a social worker, had met the man during a visit to suburban Vikhroli to resolve a marital dispute.
She told court that the man proposed to marry her in 2012 and had sexual relations with her.
The woman has a 20-year-old daughter from a previous marriage.
Her husband has deserted her but they are not yet divorced, the prosecution said.
When the accused hesitated in marrying her, the woman lodged a rape complaint with Saki Naka police station in 2015, the prosecution said.
During cross-examination, she admitted the sexual relationship was a consensual and claimed that the man had "married" her in 2016.
She admitted in court that she was aware of legal procedures and said the FIR was lodged to pressure the man into marriage.
Additional Sessions Judge A D Deo, in a recent order, acquitted the man.